Prop. 8 adman wins, 'whether you like it or not'

Chronicle columnists,Phil Matier and Andy Ross , stand for a photograph inside the studio on Thursday Jan. 29, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif.

Chronicle columnists,Phil Matier and Andy Ross , stand for a photograph inside the studio on Thursday Jan. 29, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Chronicle columnists,Phil Matier and Andy Ross , stand for a photograph inside the studio on Thursday Jan. 29, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif.

Chronicle columnists,Phil Matier and Andy Ross , stand for a photograph inside the studio on Thursday Jan. 29, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Prop. 8 adman wins, 'whether you like it or not'

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Frank Schubertwalked off a big winner at the just-concluded 2009 Pollie Awards for his come-from-behind knockout punch to same-sex marriage, and he had a special guy to thank: Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"Like it or not."

Schubert and his crew were honored at the American Association of Political Consultants' annual meeting in Washington, D.C., for their successful fight to pass Proposition 8 in November, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

Schubert acknowledged that half the crowd at the Gaylord hotel ballroom didn't agree with his stance.

Still, he was happy to give the political pros from across the country a 45-minute seminar on his victorious campaign, where he was asked: "How did you come from 14 points behind in the polls and win?"

Well, Schubert explained, they were very disciplined, they had tremendous support from the faith community and they had "a gift from God: Gavin Newsom."

Whereupon Schubert showed the same-sex-marrying San Francisco mayor delivering his infamous "it's gonna happen, whether you like it or not" line that became the anchor for Schubert's TV campaign.

Daly drubbing: Pay cut or payback? That's the question being asked in Daly City after City Clerk Annette Hiponahad her salary cut in half - down to $52,988 a year from $109,000.

The City Council voted to slash Hipona's salary barely two months after she was sworn into office.

"The cut was significant," said Councilman Mike Guingona, "but anyone that came in with expectation that the pay was going to be $109,000 was somewhat deluded."

City payroll records, however, show more than 300 of the city's 500 or so workers have been earning in excess of $100,000 annually - including City Manager Patricia Martel, who earns $301,000.

Hipona's pay cut was ostensibly meant to help the little city cope with a $6 million budget deficit. But she was the only manager who got her pay so radically sliced.

Adding to the intrigue: All five council members who wielded the pay ax had endorsed her opponent in November's election.

Hipona herself had previously run against some of the very same council members in earlier elections.

"I don't know if can say I'm surprised, because I've been dealing with these people for the past 10 years," Hipona said. "But I was outraged."

Hipona hasn't exactly endeared herself to the mayor or council - recently pestering them for the right to see all their personal invites to restaurant openings and other civic events.

All of which made for a some strange political theater at the City Council meeting a couple of weeks back, when she took the microphone during public comment period and sped past the two-minute limit to air her grievances.

It wasn't until the mayor summoned a pair of police officers that she returned to her seat on the dais.

Ugly flyer: An El Cerrito police officer returned to his patrol car the other afternoon to find a flyer tucked under the windshield that encouraged more cop killings in retaliation for Oscar Grant's shooting death by a BART police officer on New Year's Day.

The leaflet included photos of Oakland's four recently slain police officers across the top, along with Grant's picture on the side, and said: "Justice has bieng (sic) done for Oscar Grant those 4 f- cop killers deserve to die, hope more will follow."

It's not the first time the flyer has popped up. We're told the same leaflet was found on squad cars parked outside Oakland's Oracle Arena after the funeral service for the Oakland officers - all of whom were shot and killed by parolee Lovelle Mixonfollowing a traffic stop.

"As one reads the flyer, your blood will boil," El Cerrito Police Chief Scott Kirkland wrote in a memo to the troops - and distributed to police chiefs in Alameda and Contra Costa counties - a day after leaflet showed up in his town.

The chief then urged his officers to act cautiously if they come across whoever is responsible for dropping the flyers.

"I would not be surprised if this person is being followed by a vehicle that has a camera/video recorder capturing the contact and you are baited to do something inappropriate," the chief warned.

"Secondly," Kirkland wrote, "if this person means what is said, your safety is paramount. Be extra vigilant and aware of your surroundings."

Kirkland, who says he was sickened by the flyer, told us he sent out his missive largely to make sure officers kept their cool and weren't provoked into doing anything that might later end up on camera and TV.

"We don't need that from law enforcement right now," he said.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police Officers Association tells us they have received more than $500,000 in donations for the families of the slain officers.

Major donors include: Cisco Systems ($50,000), Clorox ($50,000), Morongo Indians ($40,000), Chinatown merchants ($30,000) and more small donations than can be counted at this point.